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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Latest on Oklahoma's primary election (all times local):
9:49 p.m.
Oklahoma cowboy turned reality show contestant Jet McCoy will head to a runoff for the Republican nomination for an Oklahoma Senate seat while his brother and former partner on "The Amazing Race" lost narrowly in a separate campaign for the state House as a Democrat.
Jet McCoy led the field with almost 44 percent in Tuesday's Republican primary vote in state Senate District 13 and will compete Aug. 23 in a runoff against second-placed opponent Greg McCortney.
His brother Cord McCoy called incumbent Donnie Condit late Tuesday to concede after final totals showed him trailing Condit by 52 votes with all precincts reporting in the Democratic primary for House District 18. Cord McCoy said he has all but exhausted his campaign funds and does not plan to challenge the result.
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9:35 p.m.
A longtime Libertarian Party activist who encouraged his supporters to vote for his opponent has won the party's nomination in the race for U.S. Senate.
Sixty-eight-year-old Robert Murphy of Norman defeated Dax Ewbank of Guthrie in Tuesday's statewide primary election. The Libertarian Party primary was open to registered independents.
Murphy will face incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. James Lankford, Democratic challenger Mike Workman of Tulsa and two independents in November's general election.
In an unusual twist, Murphy encouraged supporters to vote for Ewbank since Murphy was chosen to help former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party's nominee for U.S. president.
The Libertarian Party gathered enough signatures this year to qualify for the ballot in Oklahoma for the first time since 2000.
Murphy has been a party activist since 1975.
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9:25 p.m.
This year's primary election was the first test for dozens of teachers, administrators and other candidates with ties to public education who decided to challenge incumbents they perceived as not sufficiently supporting public schools, and at least one incumbent has been defeated.
Five-term incumbent Republican Rep. Dennis Johnson of Duncan was defeated by small business owner Marcus McEntire of Duncan. McEntire had the backing of the group Oklahoma Parents and Educators for Public Education.
Several other Republican incumbents who were targeted were in tight races.
Education was on the mind of Democrat Cheryl Cohenour when she voted Tuesday in Tulsa.
"We need to vote enough of (the educators in) to do something for teachers and teacher pay," Cohenour said.
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9 p.m.
Former state Sen. Al McAffrey and retired university professor Tom Guild will meet in an Aug. 23 runoff for the Democratic nomination in Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District.
McAffrey and Guild received the most votes in Tuesday's three-way primary race in which no candidate received more than 50 percent. A third Democrat, Leona Leonard of Seminole, was eliminated.
The winner of the runoff will face Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Russell and Libertarian Zachary Knight in the Nov. 8 general election.
The Democrats hope to be the first to represent the district in 40 years. Democrat John Jarman represented the district for more than two decades before switching to the Republican Party in 1975. The seat has been in GOP hands since.
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8:45 p.m.
Christina Owen has won the Democratic nomination for Oklahoma's 4th Congressional District seat held by longtime Republican Rep. Tom Cole.
Owen defeated Army veteran Bert Smith of Moore in Tuesday's primary election. She will face Cole in the Nov. 8 general election.
Owen, of Norman, said during the primary campaign that she supports the legalization of marijuana for medicinal and recreational use and wants women paid equal to men in the workplace. Active with Yes All Daughters, a support group for the victims of sexual violence, Owen has said she will focus on human rights and civil rights, including issues involving American Indians.
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8:35 p.m.
A one-time aide to former congressman Dan Boren has won the Democratic Party primary for a U.S. House seat in eastern Oklahoma.
Joshua Harris-Till is a power plant technician, but as an aide to Boren, he worked on constituent issues, concentrating on veterans' affairs. In his campaign, he pledged to work on immigration reform and creating better-paying jobs.
He defeated Tahlequah businessman Paul E. Schiefelbein. In the fall, Harris-Till will face incumbent Congressman Markwayne Mullin. Independent candidate John McCarthy is also in the race.
Schiefelbein is an accountant and small businessman. He was a political novice and acknowledged spending very little on his campaign and had little name recognition.
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8:25 p.m.
Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine is reiterating his intent to serve the coming term — his third in office — then retire from Congress.
Bridenstine won his primary Tuesday and has no opponent in the general election, clearing the way for a third term.
Bridenstine described Republican primary challenger and Tulsa oil executive Tom Atkinson as a "valiant opponent" whose disagreements with Bridenstine were based on issues. Atkinson had previously criticized Bridenstine's Washington ties and said Bridenstine has his eyes on higher office, a claim Bridenstine disputed.
Bridenstine says he is "going to be getting a job in the private sector" and will continue to serve in the Oklahoma Air National Guard following his third term in Congress.
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8 p.m.
Republican Congressman Markwayne Mullin has turned back a challenge from within his own party, defeating a war veteran who enjoyed support from former Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn.
All five of Oklahoma's Republican Congressmen survived primary challenges on Tuesday.
Mullin's victory advances him to the November general election, where he will face Independent John McCarthy and Joshua Harris-Till, who won Tuesday's Democratic Party primary.
The plumbing company owner seeks a third term from eastern Oklahoma's sprawling 2nd District. He has said he will only serve three terms.
Jackson criticized Mullin's vote for a $1 trillion government funding plan. Mullin has said a vote against the bill would have resulted in cuts to military spending.
Coburn supported Jackson, saying he wouldn't "go along to get along."
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe backed Mullin.
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7:55 p.m.
An Army combat veteran and former Republican state senator from Choctaw has beaten back a GOP primary challenger as he looks to secure a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Russell defeated conservative challenger Frank Volpe in Tuesday's Republican primary for Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District. Russell will face the winner of the Democratic primary runoff between former state Sen. Al McAffrey and Tom Guild. Libertarian Zachary Knight will also be on the ballot in November.
The 53-year-old Russell is looking to return to Washington for a second term after he won a crowded Republican primary in 2014 to fill the seat left vacant when former U.S. Rep. James Lankford ran for Congress.
Volpe is a 48-year-old retired naval commander from Harrah.
The district includes most of Oklahoma City, along with Pottawatomie and Seminole counties to the east.
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7:52 p.m.
Republican Jim Bridenstine has won a third term in Congress from the Tulsa area, turning back GOP challenges from an oil executive and a librarian.
David Matthew Hullum had been in the race as an independent but withdrew, giving Bridenstine the seat because Democrats did not field a candidate.
Tulsa oil executive Tom Atkinson criticized Bridenstine as being too insular in Washington and only wanting to consider ideas from like-minded colleagues. Atkinson also said Bridenstine has his eyes on higher office, a claim Bridenstine disputed.
Bridenstine touted his conservative credentials, noting he cast the only "no" vote among the state's GOP delegation on a $1 trillion spending bill last year.
Librarian Evelyn Rogers said eliminating the Affordable Care Act was her sole purpose for seeking the nomination.
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7:50 p.m.
Rep. Tom Cole has defeated 2 Republican challengers to win the GOP nomination in Oklahoma's 4th Congressional District.
Cole won Tuesday's three-way primary race and will face the winner of the Democratic primary between Bert Smith of Moore and Christina Owen of Norman as well as Libertarian Sevier White of Norman in the Nov. 8 general election.
Cole is vying for an eighth term in southwestern Oklahoma's 4th District. A member of the House Appropriations, Rules and Budget committees, Cole touted his conservative record during the primary campaign and said he has never voted for a tax increase and has consistently voted to reduce spending.
But Cole's challengers said his lengthy service in Congress and his votes on spending and debt had fueled discontent among some of his fellow conservatives.
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7:45 p.m.
Longtime 3rd District Rep. Frank Lucas has won the Republican nomination in the sprawling western Oklahoma district.
Lucas defeated GOP challenger Desiree Brown of Hennessey in Tuesday's primary election and will meet Democrat Frankie Robbins of Medford in the Nov. 8 general election.
Lucas, of Cheyenne, is seeking a 12th term representing the congressional district that includes 32 Oklahoma counties. Lucas says his seniority in Congress has permitted him to take leadership roles on issues important to Oklahomans, particularly agriculture and energy. Lucas is a former chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and also serves on the House Committee on Financial Services and as vice chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.
Brown criticized Lucas' long service and said she favors term limits for members of Congress.
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7:10 p.m.
The Canadian County Election Board says two voting precincts that lost power Tuesday had electricity restored shortly before polls closed at 7 p.m.
Canadian County Election Board Secretary Wanda Armold says the power outage may result in a short reporting delay in two small precincts in El Reno, but said it probably affects only a few hundred ballots.
Armold says residents who cast votes in the precincts during the power outage had their ballots placed in locked bins instead of fed into the mechanical ballot scanners. Armold says these votes will be manually fed into the machines now that power has been restored.
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7 p.m.
Polls have closed across Oklahoma for the primary election.
Polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
All five members of Oklahoma's U.S. House delegation faced challengers in the primary, which also includes races for state House and Senate seats and some local elections.
The only statewide election on the ballot is a Libertarian Party primary for the U.S. Senate, since neither incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. James Lankford nor Democratic challenger Mike Workman of Tulsa face a primary opponent.
In the Oklahoma Legislature, there are 57 primary elections in the House — 21 among Democrats and 36 for Republicans. In the Senate, there are seven Democratic primaries and 20 for Republicans. If no candidate gets a majority of votes in the primary, a runoff primary election is set for Aug. 23. The general election is Nov. 8.
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5 p.m.
Some Oklahoma residents are expressing frustration with what they see as the state's lack of support for public education as they cast votes in Oklahoma primaries.
Democrat Brent Hart, a 38-year-old human resources specialist in Oklahoma City, said Tuesday he thinks public schools are failing their children by shutting down extracurricular activities to adjust to declining state appropriations. He thinks this undermines children's motivations in school.
In El Reno, 66-year-old retired industrial engineering technician Thomas Webb said no matter how many ways officials try to raise money for teacher salaries — including casino and lottery revenues — public school teachers seem to be underpaid.
Webb, a Democrat, supports a 1 cent sales tax increase proposed by University of Oklahoma President David Boren to raise money for public schools and higher education.
And 64-year-old retired teacher Sally Cable in Edmond said education is her biggest concern and that she fully supports educators who have entered races for the state House and Senate on pledges of more funding for education and teacher pay raises.
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2 p.m.
An independent candidate who was seeking a seat in Congress from the Tulsa area has quit the race.
David Hullum's decision means the winner of the Republican Party primary will go to Washington next January.
That could be determined Tuesday if one of the three GOP candidates receives more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate can reach a majority, the race will be decided in an Aug. 23 runoff.
Incumbent congressman Jim Bridenstine is facing Tulsa oil executive Tom Atkinson and librarian Evelyn Rogers in the Republican contest. Bridenstine is seeking his third term.
Hullum sent a letter to the Oklahoma Election Board last week requesting to rescind his candidacy. A board spokesman said Tuesday it had accepted Hullum's withdrawal.
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12:20 p.m.
Oklahoma's budget woes are a factor for some voters as they cast ballots in Tuesday's primary election.
Democrat Greg Gatewood says education was a key issue for him as he voted in Tulsa on Tuesday. Gatewood says that Oklahoma "gives away too many millions of dollars to oil and gas companies" instead of sending that money to schools.
Oklahoma lawmakers scrambled to close a $1.3 billion budget shortfall this year, leading to cuts statewide.
Also in Tulsa, Republican Martha West said she supported a group of educators who are running for legislative seats this year. West, who is a recruiter for white-collar firms, says she's seen the effects of an education program that is need of a fix.
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9:10 a.m.
Showers and thunderstorms could greet some Oklahoma voters as they head to the polls Tuesday.
The National Weather Service in Norman says storms are possible along and north of Interstate 40 through Tuesday night. Strong wind gusts and heavy rainfall — which could lead to some flooding — are possible. Some of the storms could have wind gusts of up to 50 mph.
Polls are open in Oklahoma until 7 p.m.
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7 a.m.
Polls are now open for Oklahoma voters to cast ballots in this year's primary election.
Each of the state's five incumbent Republican U.S. House members face a GOP challenger, but there are only Democratic primary contests in congressional races for the 2nd District in eastern Oklahoma, 4th District in central and south-central Oklahoma, and the 5th District in the Oklahoma City area.
There also are no Republican or Democratic primary contests in the race for Oklahoma's U.S. Senate seat, as both incumbent U.S. Sen. James Lankford and Democrat Mike Workman of Tulsa automatically advance to the general election.
Polling locations across Oklahoma are open until 7 p.m. on Tuesday. If no candidate gets a majority of the votes cast in the primary, a runoff primary election for the top two vote getters is set for Aug. 23. The general election is Nov. 8.
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6:25 a.m.
All five members of Oklahoma's U.S. House delegation face challengers in Tuesday's primary election, which also includes races for state House and Senate seats and some local elections.
The only statewide election on Tuesday's ballot is a Libertarian Party primary for the U.S. Senate, since neither incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. James Lankford nor Democratic challenger Mike Workman of Tulsa face a primary opponent.
In the Oklahoma Legislature, there are 57 primary elections in the House — 21 among Democrats and 36 for Republicans. In the Senate, there are seven Democratic primaries and 20 for Republicans. If no candidate gets a majority of votes in the primary, a runoff primary election is set for Aug. 23. The general election is Nov. 8.
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